Unemployment up

20/02/2014 09:30

Adjusted for seasonal variation, 678 thousand people in the Netherlands were unemployed in January 2014, i.e. 10 thousand more than in the preceding month. In December 2013, unemployment rose by 15 thousand. Prior to December, unemployment had declined for several months. Many people lost their jobs and became unemployed, but part of the unemployed people withdraw from the labour market. Since they are not actively seeking employment, they are no longer defined as belonging to the unemployed labour force.

In January, 8.6 percent in the Dutch labour force were unemployed. The unemployment rate among men (8.3 percent) is lower than among women (8.9 percent).

Seasonally adjusted unemployment

With 295 thousand, unemployment in January was highest among 25 to 44-year-olds. The number of unemployed 45 to 64-year-olds amounted to 252 thousand. Youth unemployment stood at 130 thousand. Proportionally, unemployment was highest among young people. The rate among 15 to 24-year-olds was 15.8 percent.